JOE ROMERSA, known as a songwriter and vocalist on SILENT HILL, is no stranger to the fusing of East / West cultures through music and animation. VINCE NICOLETTI, keyboardist/songwriter and long time friend of ROMERSA’S, saw beauty in the people, language and countryside of Thailand.
In 1989, inspired by his experiences with Thai culture, NICOLETTI and bassist TIM LONG, hired ROMERSA, producer/drummer/singer, to produce a couple of songs.
To round out the sound, they found Thai backup singers through local Thai restaurants in Los Angeles. With Charles Polacheck putting the finishing guitar licks and the high silky female Thai voices, next to ROMERSA'S low trail beaten tone, THAI-WESTERN MUSIC was born.
Tom Schnabel began playing the track “Lily Pads and Rock Cod” on KCRW and asked the band to play live on “Mornings Become Eclectic”. The problem was, there was no band, only the two recordings. NICOLETTI and ROMERSA, jumping at the chance, pulled a group together and thus began SOY COWBOY.
Hearing them play on KCRW, TERSEM SINGH, film student, contacted the band wanting to shoot a video for his final project at Pasadena College of Design. This was the deciding factor for ROMERSA to record a full album. Many might know that TERSEM later went on to win an MTV Award for R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion", amongst many other accomplishments.
Inspired by this initial reaction, newly formed SOY COWBOY began playing the local scene in Los Angeles; Club Lingerie, Pu Na Na Sook, several “Art Houses”, Toi On Sunset and The Central. It was at one of these clubs, At My Place, where the band found a manager and quickly thereafter a record deal.
The debut CD was to be released in the spring of 1992, however due to typical record business mishaps, the CD was never released. In the end, only 500 "Promotional CD's" were made.
The band eventually broke up, but the recordings remain.
ROMERSA, being the producer and recording engineer, kept all the master analog tapes safe from harm, waiting for this day …The release of SOY COWBOY, "First Time Again".
It should be noted that two tracks from the original CD, "Old Cowhand From The Rio Grande" and "Paint It Black" are not on this release. Due to publishing rights issues, ROMERSA chose to leave them off. Only original songs, written by members of Soy Cowboy are on this CD.
There is work in progress for a follow up CD, which will include original "demos" and “b-sides”, slated to be on the "next" SOY COWBOY CD, to be appropriately named, "M.I.A."
Let it be known, SOY COWBOY was not just another THAI-WESTERN band! To this day 09/09/2009, they are not just the first, but the one and only!
We call it "Country Music", we just don't say what country.
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